r/f1visa

okay so I need help because I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore
I’m an international student in Texas. Everything about my immigration status is valid — I-94 valid, I-20 valid, SEVIS active, enrolled in school. I am here LEGALLY. No issues whatsoever.

But Texas DPS won’t give me a driver’s license because my visa STAMP is expired.

Before anyone says “just show your I-94” — I know. And here’s what makes this situation different from everything you’ve read before.

Texas DPS recently separated their requirements into TWO completely different categories:

1. Lawful Presence — expired visa is explicitly fine here. I-94 works perfectly. No issue.

2. Proof of Identity — this is the new gate. They quietly updated this in April 2026 to require a valid unexpired visa stamp. Your I-94 doesn’t count here. Your I-20 doesn’t count here. Just the visa stamp.

So I can prove I’m legally here. I just apparently can’t prove who I am — despite having a valid passport with my photo, name, and date of birth right there.
I’ve been to two DPS offices. Denied both times.
I showed them their own official DL-15 form which STILL says “visa valid or expired” is acceptable for identity. They ignored it.

I emailed DPS customer service. Got a response so vague it was basically useless.

I can’t drive to school. I can’t drive to work. I’m stuck.
Has ANYONE successfully gotten a Texas DL with an expired visa stamp after April 2026?
• Which office worked?
• What documents did you bring?
• Did any office run a SAVE case?
• Has an immigration attorney actually helped with this?

If you’ve found a way out of this please I am begging you to share 🙏😭

I graduated on December 12th, but I selected January 15th as my OPT start date. I have been employed every day till now and my employment during this period has been a combination of paid and volunteer work. My OPT is scheduled to conclude next year. My inquiry is whether I will still be entitled to a 60-day grace period following the expiration of my OPT. Alternatively, has the initial period between my graduation date and OPT start date already consumed a portion of that grace period?

If I submit my STEM OPT application on December 15th of next year, and if the approval process extends beyond January 15th, will this period be considered part of my grace period or will it count towards my unemployment days?

Hello all. I have been in the U.S. almost continuously since 2017. I initially came here with F-1 status and finished my undergraduate education before transitioning to H-1B status.

I am going back to F-1 to pursue graduate education and I will be going through consular processing in my home country to obtain an F-1 visa. Since I have not lived in my home country for close to a decade, I no longer have any financial ties to it. I don’t have a bank account, or phone number, or job or rental agreement in my home country. My parents and some of my family are still there, though.

I am concerned that my F-1 visa will be denied on the grounds that I have insufficient ties to my home country or intent to return there after my studies. If anyone has experience with similar situations and has any advice on how to demonstrate home country ties, I’d very much appreciate it.

Hello everyone, I’m an international student from Senegal currently in the United States on F-1 status.
I am currently on Optional Practical Training (OPT), which is set to expire in August 2026. I earned my associate degree in May 2025 and been working since August last year. My plan was to travel to Senegal this summer to renew my F-1 visa so that I may continue my academics in the United States in compliance with immigration, unfortunately my country is part of the banned ones.
I had initially planned to renew my visa last summer alongside my younger brother. However, at that time, my school advised me not to travel internationally because my OPT application was still pending.
I’m a little confused, asking y’all thoughts??

Hey everyone,
I wanted to ask for advice because I’m really stressed about my OPT/EAD timeline.

I applied for my initial post-completion OPT around March 18, 2026, and I already completed biometrics. Later, I upgraded my I-765 to premium processing on April 25, 2026. Since then, my USCIS account only shows that my case was changed to premium processing and that the premium processing clock started on April 25.

I have not received any real update or approval yet. I also have not received a separate notice in the mail or online, other than the email/status update saying premium processing started. When I contacted USCIS, they said the email/status update was basically the notice and that there were no further updates.

My job offer has a start date of June 1, 2026, and I’m getting nervous because it is almost 30 days since premium processing started. I know I cannot start working until I physically have the EAD and the start date is valid, so I’m trying to figure out what my next steps should be.

I’m an F-1 student and I just graduated. This is my first OPT, not STEM OPT. I’m just trying to understand what others have experienced and what steps are realistic right now. Thank you so much.

Hey everyone, going through an incredibly stressful situation and need real advice from people who have actually been through this.

I am an F-1 student who received a STEM OPT NOID in March 2026 for the MBA concentration vs major issue. I filed a strong response before the April 22 deadline with OHE documentation, Dean's memo, PDSO letter, and personal statement. Case is currently pending.

However I am seeing something really discouraging. Several of my friends who were in the exact same program, same NOID, same situation filed their responses and are getting denied almost immediately after submitting. This has me genuinely worried and I am trying to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.

My situation is also more complicated because my 60-day grace period from my OPT expiry already passed which means if a denial comes my SEVIS will likely auto-complete the same day with no buffer at all.

I know one option is to enroll in a new school to protect my F-1 status and I am considering it as a backup. But honestly looks like the decision on my case can come anytime before i join any college so I want to get prepared for the through the legal appeal process.

So my main question is this:

If STEM OPT is denied after a NOID response — is it worth filing a Motion to Reopen or Reconsider at the same service center? Or should I go straight to an AAO appeal? What are the real differences, realistic chances of success, and can I continue working during either process?

Has anyone actually won at either level for a STEM OPT case? How long did it take? Was it worth the time and money? Any advice from people who have been through this would mean the world to me right now

My situation: My employer is E-Verified. They even said they updated my details as soon as I joined. But my HR is hesitant to give the number to me to fill in the I-765 form. While filling the form on the USCIS website, that field is not mandatory to fill. Is it actually necessary to fill it out or will USCIS be able to verify my employer in the backend? My employer HR is saying they already have the information that I'm their employee and no need to give the E-Verify number. Is it true? Please help with your suggestions...

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice regarding an F-1 status situation because I’m getting mixed answers and even my international office seems unsure what the correct process is.

I was originally supposed to graduate in Spring 2026, but I changed my graduation term to Summer 2026 because I was applying for a summer research scholarship program that required students to remain full-time undergraduates during the summer. Unfortunately, I did not end up getting the research opportunity.

Now my issue is that my degree requirements are already 100% completed according to my audit, but my official graduation date is still August 7, 2026. I’ve also already been accepted into a master’s program for Fall 2026.

The international office is telling me that since Summer is technically my final semester, I may need to be enrolled in at least 1 in-person class for immigration/F-1 purposes. However, because my degree is already complete, they are also saying I may not be allowed to register for random classes outside my major. The few remaining classes related to my major are online only, and they are unsure whether classes like fitness/swimming/gym electives would count.

At the same time, they are also saying that if I do not enroll in something, my SEVIS status could potentially be at risk but they also admitted they are not fully sure what the correct solution is.

They also mentioned I probably cannot simply defer graduation to Fall because my audit already shows 100% completion.

Has anyone dealt with something similar?
- Final summer semester with degree already completed
- F-1 / SEVIS concerns
- Direct transition into a master’s program
- Whether 1-credit in-person electives count
- Or whether there is another option in this situation

Any advice would really help. Thank you.

Please help me I am not sure to fill W8 BEN or any other form since I have been in the US for 2.5 years and started working as an independent contractor(given they provide me 1099).

For context, I’m a Junior in biochemistry at a R1 university, and have a job on campus in a lab and will able to use OPT and STEM OPT on the job since it directly related to my major and in STEM field. I planned after using 2 years of OPTs, I’ll apply for MD Phd, but because of this policy might get approved scares me a lot since we all gonna have to extend every 4 years, will that mean we have to go back to our country, do all over extension process, interview to get the visa (which might get rejected) and we won’t be able to comeback here since we unable to extend the staying. I’m so scared y’all :((

In 2023 June I came here to start my undergrad in CS. I started applying to jobs since 2024 during my studies but only managed to find something in January during my last semester that too an unpaid internship at a startup that allowed me to work remotely. I also said yes to them because its better than graduating with no US work experience on my resume and they told me even though they can't pay me they are willing to help with OPT when the time comes so that I can continue to look for jobs if I'm still unemployed by then.
Well, I just graduated last week and the time has come and I'm still unable to find any full time paid role related to my major. My start date is July 1st but I'm not worried about that because my unpaid internship people will take care of that.

My dilemma is, do I stay here and continue to waste time applying in this job market where no one is willing to hire international? Let's say even if I do find something by November...by that point I only have 7 months of OPT left and no company will hire me knowing that. STEM OPT approval and explaining that to a potential employer is another set of struggle.

I have the chance to go to Germany on a 12 month job search visa (will need to learn the language), do I give up on the US and take that instead? I know there's unemployment crisis everywhere in the world right now but the pro is that I can still work part time jobs in Germany on the job search visa while I try to find a job related to my field whereas here I can't even do that. Do I take the chance?

Hi everyone,

I’m in a complicated situation with my OPT application and would really appreciate any advice from people who have gone through something similar.

I applied for OPT, and everything was initially fine, but later, my DSO informed me that there was an issue with my program completion/end date alignment in SEVIS. Because of that, they advised me to withdraw my current OPT application and reapply with a corrected I-20.

I already submitted a withdrawal request to USCIS.

After that, my school also found an alternative possibility where I could submit a retraction request for the withdrawal, along with an updated I-20 and explanation letter, and let the USCIS officer decide whether to continue processing my original OPT application.

Now I’m stuck between two options:

Option 1: Proceed with withdrawal → reapply

• More standard / SEVP recommended
• But risk of delays and possibly losing part of the OPT time due to processing delays and the 60-day grace period. (MY 60 days have already started)

Option 2: Retract withdrawal + submit updated documents

• Might avoid refiling and additional fees
• But seems less common and fully dependent on USCIS officer discretion

My DSO mentioned Option 1 is generally safer, but USCIS also said retraction requests can be submitted for officer review.

I’m really confused about:

• Whether withdrawal processing can take too long and affect my eligibility window
• Whether retraction requests are actually successful in similar cases
• If anyone has experienced switching between these options mid-process

If anyone has been through something similar or understands how USCIS handles OPT withdrawals/retractions, I would really appreciate your insight.

Thank you so much in advance.

I’m currently a full-time SWE on OPT (moving to STEM OPT soon), and I’ve been thinking about coaching youth soccer part-time on weekends just for fun.

I’m not doing it for the money as much as the experience, but I’m unsure how this fits within F-1/OPT rules. Would this be considered unauthorized employment?

Also curious how would USCIS even track something like this?

Has anyone here done something similar while on OPT/STEM OPT? How did it go, and any advice or things to watch out for?

I graduated with my master's this semester and walked on May 3rd and have received my OPT starting May 6th. I have started working, and today I received an email from my university saying I cannot graduate, as I have not met my degree requirements. When checked it says my department GPA is less than 3. (There are 2 GPAs: one is the overall course GPA, and the second is the department GPA exclusive of electives from other departments.) I don't understand why this issue is because they accept your graduation form only if you qualify for it. But that is not even the issue! The issue is my OPT. I will have to let my OPT and my JOB go because of this, which clearly I cannot do. What can I do in this situation?

I submitted original OPT application on February 19, 2026. Biometrics was done on February 23, 2026. I changed to PP on May 15, 2026.

My status says "We changed your case from a standard case to a premium-processing case. The premium-processing clock started on May 15, 2026. Your premium-processing receipt notice contains contact information for direct inquiries on your case. Please follow the instructions in the notice. If you move, contact the premium-processing unit directly to update your address"

Its been 5 days, there is no receipt anywhere that I can find - I just have two previous USCIS Notices of my actual application and then biometrics. Should I be worried? Is not having the updated receipt a bad sign? I am feeling very anxious.

I got an email from DHS on 5/13 that my opt is approved and to create my SEVP portal account but I haven't received any update from USCIS about my opt approval. It's been 7 days. Is this normal or should I contact USCIS?

Context: So this is my 2nd time OPT. I had one after my bachelors last year and was only valid for 3 months. It ended in august 2025 when i started my masters and i lost access to SEVP portal until this email and i got the access back. My address on SEVP Portal is the old one and I cannot edit it yet. My USCIS account has my mew updated address where I got my receipt and biometrics appointment so thats good there.

I submitted my I-765 application with PP.

Employer is e-verified.

My initial OPT EAD will expire in July.

I had a question. Do I need to do my I-9 after i get my EAD card?

Hi all. I'm currently on STEM OPT and it will end this July. I got admitted to UT Austin for MS ME for Fall 2026 starting late August. My F-1 visa from my Undergrad is expiring early August. I'm conflicted whether it's a good idea to go back to Indonesia during the summer to renew my F-1 visa or not. Technically, I can stay in the country with expired visa because I get a 60 day grace period after STEM OPT, and by that time, I could transfer my SEVIS to UT Austin, which would allow me to stay for the duration of study. I really want to renew my F-1 visa because it's been a while since I'm back home, and I do have travel plans in January. Is it risky to renew my visa given my situation? I fear that because I've been in the US since high school, then undergrad, then STEM OPT, they might see me as not having strong ties to my home country. What do you guys think? Thanks in advance.

Can you start volunteering work (not unpaid internship) in OPT from the approval date without the physical card?

Hey everyone,

Appearing for F1 interview at New Delhi on July 1, 2026.

My setup:
• Stevens Institute of Technology MS CS Fall
• Scholarship from Stevens
• Education loan from InCred — XXXX amount
• Uncle’s savings — XXXX amount (legal guardian, co-signer on loan)
• Total funding exceeds Year 1 requirement comfortably

Concern:
I-20 shows Personal Funds = $0 since loan + 14000 dollars scholarship covers everything. Uncle’s funds are just emergency backup. Planning to carry his bank statement.

Questions:

1.	Anyone approved with Personal Funds = $0 on I-20?

2.	Should I mention uncle’s funds or stay silent?

3.	Similar experiences?

Thanks in advance🙂